Motor racing-Front row start raises Alonso's spirits

By Alan Baldwin

BARCELONA, April 26 (Reuters) - Double world champion Fernando Alonso said he was more optimistic about Renault's ability to provide him with a competitive car after qualifying on the front row for his home Spanish Grand Prix on Saturday.

The 26-year-old has sounded gloomy about Renault's chances of competing against Ferrari and McLaren but second place on the starting grid in Barcelona, even if his car turns out to be light on fuel, brought a smile to his face.

"I'm more optimistic now, for sure," he said.

"When I finished the Bahrain race I was not very happy with 10th place and fighting with a difficult car and not being competitive all weekend, not only in the race.

"We saw another performance from the Renault cars this weekend, so I will arrive at the next grand prix with much more confidence.

"It's a year and a half or nearly two years that they were not on the front row, so hopefully we are coming back."

Alonso won his titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006 but the French team have not won since he joined McLaren for one unhappy season in 2007 and then returned.

Although the Spaniard was fourth in Australia, they have had to fight to reach the final phase of qualifying and Alonso has scored just six points in three races.